In our opinion the indetermination about influence of the Services Directive in the field of legal metrology is caused
due to the term "services of general interest", which is used in the paragraph 17 of the Preamble
("...Services of general interest are not covered by the definition in Article 50 of the Treaty and therefore
do not fall within the scope of this Directive...") and in p.2a of the Article 2
of said Directive ("...This Directive shall not apply to the following activities :
(a) non-economic services of general interest;..."). Without clear definition what is the "general interest"
even the simpliest of the activities in the field of legal metrology – subsequent verification of a
measuring instrument – seems to be a subject of the Article 50 of the Treaty: it is provided for
remuneration and so it is an activity of a partly commercial, partly industrial character.
Also it is not a "non-economic service" because even in the case of state monopoly on this kind of service at least the fees have to be paid.
Unclear is the applicability of the p.2i of Article 2 in case of legal metrology matters. Could the verification be handled as "...connected with the exercise of official authority..." (Article 45 of the Treaty)?
It seems that the services in the field of legal metrology are (in our opinion at the moment) subject to the Services Directive. Undoubtedly under provisions of p.1b of Article 9 and p 8 of Article 4 of the Directive, which justify the application of authorisation procedures for services providers.
However, some opinion on this matter from Commission could be useful to obtain consensus and right understanding of the legal document.
For information:
Estonian Metrology Act is linked with the Product Conformity Attestation Act and in general follows the principle of free movements of services. A person which applies for the right to operate as an authorised body in national verification has to be accredited according to the EN ISO/IEC 17025 (to have competence in measurements or tests) and 17020 (to make decisions), to have liability insurance contract, etc without any restriction to the Member State, where the legal person is established. There are 2 procedures, which have to be for non-Estonian persons additionally more closely described: the procedure of the registration in Register of (authorised) Economic Activities and the procedure of tests on knowledge of relevant Estonian legal acts, which employees involved in verification have to pass.
Aili Vőrk
Chief specialist on legal metrology
Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority
Contact person for WELMEC activities
